1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to anti-missile protection, more particularly, to a deployable decoy device for protecting a target vehicle from surface-to-air, air-to-air, or similar missiles.
2) Description of Related Art
Aircraft may be susceptible to attacks from surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. These missiles are generally “heat seeking” and employ infrared guidance such that they do not emit signals that may be detected by the target. The infrared-guided missiles typically seek in a specified wavelength and, as such, may detect sources of non-natural radiated energy, such as the emissions of an aircraft engine.
A number of techniques have been developed to protect aircraft from surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. Flares are the most common devices used as a decoy, although other techniques, such as suppressants, shields and blocking devices, pyrophorics, and directional infrared counter measures, may be used. Flares typically comprise pyrotechnic compositions bound together with an organic binder and pressed to form pellets. One or more pellets are deployed from the flare and ignited following missile launch such that each pellet burns over its surface to produce an infrared source, and in a manner that simulates the engines of the target aircraft such that the missile is lured to the burning pellet and away from the target aircraft. Successive pellets are deployed and ignited to continuously attract and lure the missile away from the aircraft, as each pellet will eventually burn out.
However, several flares and pellets must be used since the pellets are incapable of maintaining flight once deployed. As a result, the aircraft must be equipped with several flares that may be used for a single missile since the pellets eventually burn out, which may ultimately sacrifice flight efficiency by increasing weight and the amount of space required on the aircraft for the flares. Moreover, most sophisticated missiles are capable of determining the difference in movement between the trajectory of the aircraft and a pellet that simply falls from an aircraft, such that the missile continues to track the aircraft even as pellets are launched.
As a result of the aforementioned drawbacks, kinematic flares have been developed, which are designed to fly along with the aircraft to extend the exposure time of the flare, rather than having the flare fall as soon as deployed from the target aircraft. An example of a kinematic flare is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,680 to Nielson et al. The Nielson patent discloses a black body decoy flare for thrusted applications. The decoy flare includes a metal fuel (e.g., magnesium, aluminum, or mixtures thereof), ammonium perchlorate as a main oxidizer, a binder (e.g., hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene), and high carbon content compounds (e.g., aromatic or polyaromatic compounds). The ammonium chlorate combusts with the metal fuel to produce high temperature gaseous reaction products, where the gaseous reaction products are useful for producing thrust in the decoy flare. The high carbon content compounds are added to improve the efficiency of the black body radiator, as well as help contain the high temperatures with the decoy housing, such that the high temperatures do not destroy the decoy flare. Even with respect to kinematic flares, the flares typically employ a fuel that burns out of control once ignited, which increases the potential for ground fires. In addition, the burning fuel tends to produce toxic byproducts.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a decoy device that is capable of reacting quickly and luring a missile away from a target vehicle during an attack. It would also be advantageous to provide a decoy device that may defend a target vehicle without sacrificing the vehicle's flight efficiency. It would further be advantageous to provide for a decoy device that is environmentally friendly.